The Reader and His Audiences

This thread traces how local audiences use Kidd’s readings to encounter distant worlds, while their reactions reveal their own anxieties and divisions.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

A Crowd for the Amendment

A Crowd for the Amendment A charged audience Kidd’s report on the Fifteenth Amendment provokes muttering in a hall filled mostly with white men. The crowd’s reaction makes clear that news can unsettle the audience it informs. The reader’s authority Kidd tells the listeners to stop muttering and hear the report. His role depends on commanding attention while exposing the audience to facts it may resist.

The Hansa Story

The Hansa Story A remote disaster Kidd reports that the Hansa has been crushed in Arctic ice and initially notes that survivors are not mentioned. The audience hears about a distant expedition through the reader’s careful presentation. News becomes narrative The story gives listeners a perilous world beyond their immediate region. Later reports of rescue demonstrate how new information can revise the emotional shape of a story.

The Polar Rescue

The Polar Rescue The report changes Kidd reads that survivors from the Hansa have been rescued by a whaler. The audience leans forward to hear about ice kingdoms, danger, and people traveling through an unknown world. Suspense shared collectively The listeners’ attention shows how public reading can create a communal emotional experience. They do not simply receive a fact; they follow the event as a story with a changed outcome.

The Skating Article

The Skating Article A deliberate choice Kidd selects a light report about women skating on ice in Philadelphia, hoping for a calm subject amid local political conflict. The article describes a world far from the contested Texas roads. The audience’s imagined safety Its image of firm ice and leisurely recreation offers a contrast to the dangers surrounding the travelers. Kidd uses selection as part of his craft, shaping an interval of relative calm.

The Audience Laughs

The Audience Laughs Shared response Kidd reads unusual reports and comic details while Cicada sits near the door. She laughs when the audience laughs, joining a public response whose language she has gradually learned. A temporary community The shared laughter briefly connects listeners who otherwise live among conflict and uncertainty. Kidd’s reading becomes a space where attention and emotion can circulate safely for a short time.

Winter 1870, Wichita Falls

Winter 1870, during the Wichita Falls reading

March 1870, during the Dallas reading

March 1870, while Kidd prepares a Durand program

During the later readings with Cicada